


The Redemption Place

by polybi



Category: The Good Place (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bisexuality, Demons, F/F, F/M, Fix-It, Good Demons, Heaven, Hell, Magic, Multi, Mystery, Polyamory, Romantic Comedy, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-28
Updated: 2017-10-28
Packaged: 2018-09-20 08:27:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9482786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/polybi/pseuds/polybi
Summary: Spoilers for Season one.  After the truth is discovered about The Good Place, on of the accomplices in the scheme realizes true feelings and takes drastic action.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story of redemption. This is set starting right at the point where Eleanor issues her challenge to Michael. No one's memory was erased. And I know it's a spoiler, but I'm assuming by now everyone has seen the season finale.
> 
> I dedicate this to the eight hardest-working actors on TV. That includes Tiya Sincar, who played the other Eleanor. This is a woman who deserves her own show, and I want to see her in something soon.
> 
> Oh, by the way, you came thisclose to redeeming yourselves, NBC, for not pulling the trigger on #eClaire with Heroes. So this Elle will get to climb the Sexy Skyscraper! 
> 
> Warnings: Bisexuality and polyamory. I would say character deaths, but they are already dead...are they? Also: HEAVY spoiler for the season 1 finale.
> 
> The usual disclaimers, the mistakes, misspellings, bad grammar and punctuation are mine. Your comments, likes, and kudos are welcome.
> 
> Enjoy

 

**Several mornings after: Eleanor’s home in the “Good” Place.,**

 

Chidi Anagongye was exhausted. A happy bundle of tired. It was 7 in the morning, and there Chidi was, seated on the Ikea sofa,binge watching Million Dollar Mind Game, and taking occasional sips of chicory-laced coffee when a little bundle of energy wearing nothing but a robe and a mischievous smirk snuck up behind him, covered his eyes with her hands, and kissed him squarely on the top of his head.

 

“If you're not Vicky, Eleanor, or Tahani, I will scream...” Of course, Chidi knew whose hands they were, considering he was smiling at the time. 

 

“Well, it isn’t the second or the third, so...” Vicky was interrupted when Chidi grabbed Vicki’s arms and flipped her over to the couch, then the two embraced. “Well Chidi...it I was Eleanor or Tahani, what would have done?”

 

“Something along the lines of.....this...” Afterwhich Chidi cupped Vicki’s head, drew her closer to his, then kissed her.  The kiss got deeper, which prevented both from seeing the two figures that crept up behind the aforementioned sofa.

 

“Hey Cheedster, save some of that for us...” Eleanor Shellstrop was her usual cocky self, while Tahani Al-Jamil was in haughty, head-in-the-clouds fettle. “That's right, Chidi...you are wasting valuable energy when we haven’t gotten through foreplay yet...”

 

Chidi turned towards the other two women in his life. “Foreplay...all that last night was.. _ foreplay _ ??”

 

“Well, genius,” Eleanor said with smirk on face, “if you can't take the heat...” Then she reaches and grabs Vicky's hand and gently pulls small woman towards her. “Come, my thespian lesbian..”

 

The smaller woman held up her hand to stop the proceedings: “1...I can't ' _ come _ ’ before I get back to bed...,” said with a wink, “And 2....Noon, remember...?”

 

“Holy forkin’ shirtballs!” Eleanor almost forgot that this was The Day Of Days. And she did  _ not  _ want to be late for the ceremony. Especially since she was partly responsible for there being a ceremony in the first place.

 

Chidi and Tahani walked to the sofa behind Eleanor and Vicky, respectively. Both put their hands on the other two women's shoulders. “You two have done a lot this week, almost as much as the Party Maven over here...” Tahani blushed and smiled as Chidi continued: “...we’ll get breakfast going then we’ll call Janet to do our wardrobes.” Then the professor bent over to Vicky and whispered “Texas. Chicken-fried. Steak...” It was music to Eleanor and Vicky’s ears...especially Vicky who, though being of Indian/Bengali parents, was born in Plano, Texas and live there for most of her life before she moved to Arizona. Chidi and Tahani kissed the women below them, the switched places and smooched the other two.  Then they practically skipped to the kitchen, leaving Eleanor and Vicky to cuddle on the couch.

 

Eleanor turned her head towards the kitchen, and looking at Tahani and Chidi laughing and having a great time working on that elaborate breakfast, she thought to herself how lucky she was to have these three beautiful people as friends and lovers. But when she turned back to face the turned-off TV, there was Vicky sobbing into the blonde’s shoulder.

 

Eleanor took a finger, lifted the brown-eyed brunettes face to look into Eleanor’s sky blue orbs. “I’m...so...sorry...” Vicky sobbed. “I just wished things...could have been...diff....” Vicky’s words were interrupted by two thin lips that pressed on Vicky’s fuller ones deeply.  When the kiss was released, Eleanor spoke...

 

“You don’t have to apologize anymore, love.  You helped bring all of us together.  ALL of us.” Eleanor kissed Vicky again, this time, full.  And when the kiss ended, they just held each other, and as Eleanor took her hand and brushed Vicky’s shining jet-black hair, and remembered the day that Vicky...the artist formerly known as The Real Eleanor Shellstrop...changed her existence and that of everyone else in that room forever....

 

**_Several months earlier: Eleanor’s home_ **

 

_ “They know...” _

 

_ With those words from Michael, she knew it was over. _

 

_ The gambit almost went off without a hitch. Michael’s grand scheme of creating a “good place” that was really a bad place. In fact it was THE Bad Place.  A pastel-toned hell disguised as a paradise for frozen yogurt lovers. _

 

_ The scheme was as complex as it was elegant: find four disparate souls and put them in situations that would make them torture each other for a millennium. _

 

_ Part of that scheme, an integral part, was Vicky. Short, cute, innocent-looking almost to the point of being angelic, her job as the Eleanor that was supposed to be in The “Good” Place was stir the pot, and aggravate things for an already torn Chidi. _

 

_ But now that was all done because the “fake” Eleanor figured everything out. Vicky complained that she had practiced her lines about her taking someone’s place to go to the “Bad” place, even mentioning she was friend with some of the fire monsters who resided there. She spat out “you all suck!,” then stormed out of the house and slammed the door shut. _

 

_ And what no one inside saw was the fact that she just stood out there. Trembling.  And she was lucky no one showed up with a truth cube, because the real Vicky would have been found out.  That she didn’t think they sucked.  Especially Eleanor, Chidi, and Tahani. _

 

_ In fact, it was the opposite. _

 

_ Meanwhile inside, Michael had holed up behind the wall leading to Eleanor’s bedroom. When he realized that his grand scheme fell apart when Eleanor confessed that a lot of the weird stuff that was happening was because she was there by mistake (it was all part of the plan anyway, but Michael didn’t think Eleanor would do that...neither did Eleanor for that matter).  Then everything snowballed to a point where a judge named Shawn was supposed to show up and make a ruling about who was to go to the Bad Place. _

 

_ Everyone started bickering, including Jason Mendoza, a small-time DJ with a dim wit and incredible innocence, and a helpful AI named Janet...kind of a cute Alexa in the almost-flesh, who somehow Jason married. _

 

_ They all loudly bickered about who would go, loudly enough so if anyone was outside they’d hear it. until Eleanor realized exactly what happened. Maybe she was reading something from Jean-Paul Sartre on her own, or she just came up with it, but she realized that everyone was torturing each other...that the Good Place was really the BAD Place. _

 

_ There was also that part where Eleanor said that she might have the hots for the statuesque Tahani...but that’s another story. _

 

_ Now Michael was trying to convince Shawn to wipe all of their memories and start over.  As a last ditch effort, Eleanor write a note to herself to find Chidi if those memories were wiped and hid it in the mouth of Janet, because AIs can’t eat. _

 

_ Michael came out, and Eleanor told him to do his worst...because if they found each other before, they will find each other again. And as she ranted and Michael was about to snap his fingers to activate the memory wipe..... _

 

_ No one actually saw the door open... _

 

_ Or the hand that froze Michael in his tracks just a millisecond before the finger snap... _

 

_ But the did the arm outstretched to send out a wave that froze Shawn as well before he could have taken action. _

 

_ And out of their individual reverie the saw who the arm and the hand belonged to. _

 

_ A frightened Vicky, who looked at all with a quivering lip and deer-in-the-headlight eyes. Who turned around and bolted the house with tears streaming down her face. And four former humans and a human-like AI wondering just what the hell happened. _

 

_ So with instructions to Janet and Jason to keep an eye on the two frozen stiffs in front of them, Eleanor, Chidi, and Tahani ran out into the night to find Vicky and get answers. _

 

_ A lot of answers. _

  
**_To Be Continued_ **


	2. The Real Vicky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Eleanor, Chidi, Vicky, and Tahani prepare for The Big Event, there are flashbacks to a time not long before that when Vicky's actions caused her to run away.

**_Previously, in the past_ **

 

_ Amazingly, Eleanor Shellstrop figures out Michael’s gambit, that the Good Place is really the Bad Place, Michael says that he is going to reset everything, including Eleanor and her friends Chidi, Tahani, Jason, and the A.I. Janet. But before he could snap his fingers to start the reset, Vicky (who played the “real” Eleanor as part of Michael’s gambit, bursts in, freezes both Michael and his superior Sean, then runs out of Casa Ikea in tears. Janet and Jason stay behind to keep an eye on Michael and Shaun, as the other run out in hot pursuit to find out why, after being part of Michael’s scheme, did Vicky turn on her masters... _

 

**In the present**

 

It took a Herculean effort on the parts of Eleanor, Chidi, Tahani, and Vicky to keep their horny hands off each other _ (but what else was new...?) _ .  Actually, it was 9am, or what would pass as 9 in the morning in the afterlife, and Noon....not the mention the Big Event. Which means that any extracurriculars would have to wait until after the Big Post-Event at Casa Tahani later tonight.

 

Speaking of the Sexy Skyscraper, she was trying to calm down Chidi, who was going through the same thing he went through the last time he was in this position..

 

“Darling, what you need is someone who can make your decisions for you...like this one...” And with that Tahani tossed the white tux Chidi was fretting over and told him to wear the black tux with the tieless white shirt. Chidi gave the tall woman one of his trademark cockeyes smiles and a kiss on the lips as a thank you. “Look, Chidi, being a best man this time is going to be easy.  Besides, your decisiveness was one of the reasons we’re here, love...” That of course, got the social maven another sloppy kiss from the ethics professor.

 

While that was going on in the guest bedroom, in the master bedroom (aka, the “clown” boudoir), Eleanor had a similar problem.  She knew Tahani was busy with Chidi, she was in the big bedroom with Vicky trying to choose a dress for the occasion.  The easy thing would be to call out for Janet to help with the selection, but the A. I. was busy taking care of her husband, Jason.  Plan B, of course, would be Bad Janet, but knowing her, Bad Janet would pick a dress with a neckline that would stop just a few meters south of Peru.

 

That was Bad Janet’s choice for Vicky, though Eleanor had to admit the the white dress that the bad A.I. chose for the former “real Eleanor” accentuated many curves that Vicky sought to hide for reasons that Eleanor could not fathom since she and her partners in the other room appreciated said curves on a regular basis.

 

The problem is most of what Eleanor had was pretty casual: jeans, shorts, t-shirts, and sweats. She plopped her butt on the mattress and let out a heavy sigh. Vicki sat next to her and held the blonde’s hand. “You do know you can do this,” said Vicki as Eleanor’s frustration grew exponentially. “How?” sighed the blonde. “God,” replied the achingly cute Indian, “you have a short memory. Look...close your eyes, and think of what you want to look like today.” Eleanor looked straight at the double doors of  the closet and began to close her eyes when Vicki’s fingers captured Eleanor’s chin and turned to the tanned woman. “Let me give you a little incentive...” and with that Vicki gave the blonde a gentle, wet kiss on her lips.

 

With a chirpy “OK” Eleanor then closed her eyes and visualized the outfit she wanted to be seen in. She wanted it to be “Eleanor,” something that would be a visual of herself, but also be special, because this was to be the most special day of her afterlife. 

 

Within seconds, the blonde heard the smaller woman’s voice tell her to turn around, and when Eleanor did, there was a beautiful yellow pants-gown made of silk.  The neckline looked like it could show just enough, though not as much as Vicki’s cleavage-fest.  Eleanor looked upon the dress with astonishment. “I did this...?”

 

“I can’t imagine you still don’t realize that you can do more than that.  It’s stuff like this this that...” Vicky’s eager demeanor grew quieter and more pensive. “It’s stuff like that that saved me. That saved all of us.”  It was then that tears began to fall from her face, a face soon buried in the chest of Eleanor.

 

The blonde lifted the Indian woman’s face and kissed her lips gently, then held Vicky for a long moment, speaking to her quietly. “You know, short stuff, we actually saved each other....” And even as tears kept falling, Vicky Sircar* started to smile at the words, remembering the reason why Eleanor said them...

  
  


**_In the past_ **

 

_ Before all this, there was no being that could be a better friend, pal, confidante, or wing person than Todd. Vicki knew this. She knew that after drinking Todd under a table, he would take her home in one piece. He’s listen to you for hours and hours non stop, then only give you the advice you needed after you were done.  If it were possible to marry him, Todd would be the perfect spouse, save for one tiny detail. _

 

_ Todd was a fire monster. _

 

_ One of the gatekeepers of the bad place, Todd was one of those who kept the eternal fires going for those in who were deemed deserving of standard issue eternal torture. Problem was that Todd was too nice of a guy to do torture. This put Todd on Shawn’s permanent shirt list.  He was a misfit, but then so was Vicky.  She truly was the mistake, not the woman she was pretending to be.  No she wasn’t a very young Mother Teresa, but she was telling the truth about helping innocent people, being an actual clerk and associate at the Arizona Justice Project**. Not to mention her nights were spent honing her acting skills at the Torch Improv.  It was Todd’s gentleness and Vicky’s relentless cheerfulness that had them become fast friends, especially when she needed a friend most. _

  
  


_ Michael’s gambit was starting to unravel with Eleanor’s “confession” that she was the cause of all of the things that were happening in the Good Place since she arrived.  MIchael, Shaun, and head demon in charge Trevor agreed that they had to come up with a “real” Eleanor. It was a hurried choice, Trevor knew about Vicky’s improv skills. Michael liked her, Sean was suspicious because Vicky did not have that “evil” streak about her, but it was decided, so it was the BP Crew, Trevor, and a very nervous Vicky on that train. _

 

_ And when Vicky stepped off the train, it was like everything crashed around her.  She was briefed about her “marks” beforehand of course, but when she first met them, her insides turned into strawberry Jello. There was Tahani, perfect face and figure and so tall. Chidi, glasses hiding piercing eyes and a knowing demeanor, and Eleanor. There were no words for Eleanor, this mix of sexuality and mischief in that light-skinned blonde frame. There was one other thing about Eleanor, more than the other two: a total lack of bullshirt. Todd had told Vicky that the one thing they feared in both the Good and Bad Places was a that lack of bullshirt that everyone covers themselves up in, for without that filter, a person could do amazing things. _

 

_ But then, Todd knew that about Vicky, and he wanted to protect her. _

 

_ And there were times when that lack of BS could have been Vicky’s downfall. For instance, there was that time when Eleanor pretty much accused Vicky of coming on to her when she mentioned that Eleanor might have been in love with Vicki’s actual designated soulmate Chidi (though if both could confess, they both were and are). The move should have been something like “you’re crazy” or something like that, but she just kept going, probably because subconsciously, she was coming on to the blonde. _

 

_ Then there was the fact that everyone....everyone....called Eleanor “Fake Eleanor,” except the person who was playing “Real Eleanor.”  Vicki was never going to do that to the Real Eleanor Shelstrop. _

 

_ Finally it was a short time before this.  Vicki’s intent was to grab Chidi, steal the train with the help of any Janet she could find, confess to the man and plot a way to save the others, including Jason and the Good Janet.  That was rendered pointless when Michael announce the jig was up. Vicky yelled that everyone sucked and walked out.  And when the door closed, the small woman burst into tears. _

 

_ Bambadjan, the “legal eagle” who was part of the scheme, tried to comfort Vicki, and was succeeding when the woman put a very determined on her face. “You have to go, Bambadjan. You can’t be here.”  Bambadjan tried to find out why the woman was shooing him away, but the woman just near-screamed “You have to go...NOW!”  Bambadjan did leave, just in time for Vicky to hear what was happening. The woman had to act fast to stop what she knew Michael was going to do.  Without a warning, Vicky bursts into the house, raises both hands, and emitted a pulse that froze Michael and Shaun in place, then ran out into the night, tears flying from her face... _

  
  


_ And that is how Vicky wound up weeping almost uncontrollably on a park bench in the center of town, with Todd the Fire Monster kneeling in front of her.  He wanted to hold her, and he could have activated a cooling system that would have doused the fire so he could do that, but it was a chilly night, and the fire that burned through Todd’s body of brimstone and ash put out warmth that was a good as a hug.  Vicky loved him that. _

 

_ “You really do love them,” the fire monster remarked. _

 

_ “I could never tell them, Todd.”  Vicky was still beside herself. “After everything, can can never know....” _

 

_ “Know what, Vik?” It was Eleanor, along with Chidi and Tahani standing on either side of the blonde.  _

 

_ Now to be fair, Eleanor was a great admirer of a good scam, and mentally her hat was off to Michael and everyone involved, but something was off about Vicky and what she did at the Ikea house, and now, overhearing Vicki’s candid confession to whom Eleanor called “The Thing, Jr.,” something resembling compassion started setting in. _

 

_ Vicky looked up at the quartet eyeing her intently. Chidi’s piercing eyes, Tahani standing there with her arms folded, and Eleanor just standing there, nose flaring. _

 

_ Vicki’s face was drained of blood and the look of terror was etched on. She did not know exactly what was in the minds of the four, but her instinct was to run, which she got up and did. _

 

_ The trio started to give chase when Todd told them to stop. _

 

_ “Give me one good reason, Rock Boy!’ Eleanor was angry and scared and she didn’t this, whatever it was. _

 

_ One could not see desperation on a face made of hardened magma, but that desperation was there. “Look, the thing of it is.....she loves you.  All four of you...” The looks of disbelief were universal on the faces of the three, with Eleanor even more so as Todd continued: “she’s been feeling bad about all of this.  I think...I think she’s going to...retire.”  Suddenly when that word was mentioned, it hit Eleanor....Michael's gruesome description of what “retirement” was.  _

 

_ “Fork! The eternal sheik!” Eleanor’s face had terror written all over it.  Now, not only did she seeks answers, but she now had to stop Vicky from ending her life. She turned and saw the increasingly tiny figure of Vicky still running down the street, but now turning left. Eleanor told the others to stay put; she was going after Vicky alone, then she took off as fast as she could. _

 

* * *

  
  
  
  
  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First, as we write we do not know Vicki’s real last name, nor do we know Michael's *I just took the liberty of using Tiya’s last name. By the way one of the reasons I am writing this is that I am totally gaga over Tiya and I hope Mr. Schur sees fit to bring back Vicky in Season 2.
> 
> **Also, there truly is an Arizona Justice Project that really does help people wrongly convicted of crimes. You can find then in the Google machine under “azjusticeproject.”
> 
> Coming up: Can eleanor stop Vicky from going into The Eternal Shriek? Plus, the two Eleanors open up, a truth is revealed, and an architect is put on the path to redemption.
> 
> Likes and kudos are nice. Actual comments are better.


	3. Push The Button

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eleanor pursues a very distraught Vicky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short note that it is obvious I will not finish this in time for the season premiere. So this is essentially non-canon. Your comments are most welcome. The usual disclaimers...

 

 

**In the past...**

 

It wasn't much light in the center of the village when Eleanor got there.  Vicky had gotten away. 

 

Eleanor could have cursed at herself for allowing the that girl to get away, that was if the Good Place Profanity Filter didn’t turn every curse into a fork, a shirt, or a beet.

 

The blonde couldn’t blame Vicky for being afraid.  Yes, she impersonated Eleanor as part of Michael’s evil plan, however she could not get it through her head that Michael was evil...more like a 500-year-old kid who never grew up.  There other things Eleanor could not get out of her head. For one thing, if torture was what Michael was after, how come almost time torture came, they all got out of it together?  All Michael or whoever was controlling had to do was find a way to keep them apart. But they kept finding ways to working things out together. Eleanor and Chidi and Tahani and Jason and the AI Janet.  They kept finding a way to work things out.

 

And Vicki, herself. You’d think that if she was part of a scheme to torture her, why did she seem so selfless.  Time and time again, Vicki as “Real” Eleanor seemed to be almost selfless in trying to get Actual Eleanor and Chidi together. Almost as if....as if she was sacrificing for some better good.

 

And there was that one thing.  It kept nagging at her ever since that “negotiation” at Tahani’s...everyone kept calling her “Fake” Eleanor...everyone except Vicky. She never did...or never could.  Vicky apparently had a moral core that seemed to prevent her from saying that lie.

 

The con-woman with a heart of gold..

 

And now, more than ever, Eleanor had to find Vicky...there were so many questions to ask...and besides, as much as she knew that she was in love with Chidi and Tahani...she knew that she was falling fast with Vicki as well. Fast and hard.

 

But where was she?  Outside of the usual street lights that were never very bright anyway, Eleanor could not see much. “I wish I could fly again!!” Now, Eleanor is screaming to the sky.

 

“You can!”

 

Eleanor forgets that here, the sky can scream back. And...at least in this case...it sounds like Janet.

 

“Janet...?  Where are you?”

 

“I”m in your head, Eleanor. It's the same neural transmit/receive system used to summon me, I can communicate with you through that.”

 

Eleanor was about to reply, when Janet's voice came through with a sense of great urgency: “We don’t have much time. You  _ can _ fly. Michael lied and said it was cancelled, but you can.  You were told that you had to think of good thoughts, but your thoughts were not truly good.  Try again, but only good thoughts.  We have to run...someone’s coming...”

 

Then Janet’s voice stopped.

 

Good thoughts.  Good thoughts.  She thought of Mindy St. Claire, the earthy woman from the Medium place she hung out with along with Janet and Jason. She thought of Bambajan, the legal eagle...he was part of it but he really seemed to want to help. There was Bart and Nina. They probably were also part of the plan, but they were instrumental in keeping Eleanor and Chidi together.

 

Chidi, who saved her life.

 

Tahani, that sexy skyscraper of a woman.

 

Jason. Even under another name, guy was as innocent as a 6 year old.

 

All the versions of Janet.

 

Even Michael, who even evil would have made a better dad than Eleanor’s own.  And, come of think about, that Mindy St. Claire would have made a better mom.

 

And then there was Vicky....

 

Vicky....

 

Suddenly, Eleanor and the ground separated at very high velocity. The higher she climbed, the louder Eleanor’ screams became louder...

 

“Stretch. Out. Your Arms...”

 

Eleanor heard the voice of Janet in her mind.  The A.I.’s instructions were simple and to the point...”Stretch your arms forward, like Supergirl....think of where you are going or who you want to find...”

 

“Like Vicky,” replied Eleanor to Janet...or at least to the rushing air surrounding the flying Shellstrop.  But Eleanor followed the instructions. And although the Power of the Good Place seemed to be guiding her now in a predetermined direction, it was impossible for Eleanor not to feel the freedom of flight.

 

Suddenly, Eleanor was flying over what seemed to be a group of warehouse. Before she could ask herself about those buildings, she looked down to see a tumbling figure seemingly frantic, desperately trying to find something. As the person found a doorway to enter, Eleanor easily recognized her.

 

_ Vicky. _

 

Whatever force was guiding Eleanor to that brought her down to a relatively soft 2-point landing. And with that, she ran into the large metal structure looking for her impersonator.

 

It was dark and deathly still inside. Obviously there was some climate control but Eleanor stumbled trying to find her way.

 

Suddenly, a crash.  And another, and another.  And the sound of a woman weeping. Vicky weeping.

 

Feeling her way, Eleanor followed the sounds until she reached a well-lit storage room that looked like the rear of a supermarket, which is where she found her target.

 

In open compartments, stacked on top of each other, were towers with buttons on top of them. They were identical to the fail-safe that was on the beach that Eleanor and Chidi used to try to “murder” Janet to keep Michael from going into that torturous “retirement.” Vicky was searching for something frantically, and Eleanor was afraid of exactly what she was looking for.  Because, if they were all fail-safe resets....

 

“Vicky...?” Eleanor tried to get the darker woman’s attention when the latter stopped as if she recognized one of the towers.  She grabbed it and pulled it out, with some difficulty for that tower seemed to be heavy.  The button and a tear-stained Vicky now stood side-by-side, and Eleanor did not need to be told what would happen next, for Eleanor saw what was on the base of that button: the words “Victoria Sircar.”  Vicky was going to push the button and end herself.

 

It all happened so fast. Vicky said not a word, save for the weeping. As Vicky’s hand pushed down, Eleanor leaped towards the other woman. It was almost a carbon copy of Eleanor, Chidi, and Jason almost “murdered”Janet, except it was Eleanor leaping to stop Vicky, with he two women and the button all falling to the floor at the same time.

 

Almost....

 

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	4. Role of a Lifetime, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eleanor tries to stop Vicky from self-destruction...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the second season is here, and THANK GOD it is as good as season one. All the elements of V1 are here, almost all the V2 additions satisfy, including Tiya Sircar as Real Eleanor/Vicky/Denise. She is just as charming as a wannabe acting diva with a possible heart gold. And she is going to be a major part of this season (and seeing Chapter 16, she's gonna be a baddie. But I want her to be GOOD, soooo.....) So much that (and this is unusual for me, based on my history with these things) I’m basing a good deal of this story on elements in V2.
> 
> So basically, the actual reset did not happen. The V2 soulmates will not make this trip, although I kinda think Tahani and her S2 soul mate will make a connection on TV and I think Angelique is quite cute.  
> Also, no flash forwards in this episode, but that will probably start up again in the next chapter. This will be pretty much centered on Eleanor and Vicky.
> 
> The usual disclaimers….
> 
> Update: It may be that Vicky could turn out to be the big bad here. Not in MY fics! And that girl can siiiing...!

**The Past: The warehouse**

* * *

 

Eleanor, Vicky, and the button tower all fell in a heap near the boxes surrounding them. It was a near-repeat of when Chidi accidentally “murdered” the AI Janet. With one big difference…the button was never pushed. Eleanor and Vicky were alright, at least health-wise.

But Vicky was still in tears and Eleanor was not looking at a con-woman who tried to break the heart of her good friend, but a broken person who has also seen her life…or in this case, afterlife…go up in smoke.

Eleanor lead Vicky too a rather large crate just low enough in height for the two to sit on, and it was there that Eleanor allowed Wiki to cry hard on her shoulder. The blonde kissed Vicky’s jet black hair and the shorter woman started to compose herself. Then Vicki looked up and saw Eleanor's smiling face and almost lost it.

“Hey, Short Stack...what’s wrong?” Eleanor flashing true concern with that smile.

“Me, Eleanor! ME! I! FORKED! UP!”

“No, Vick. It’s me, Remember I’m the one who figured it out...”

“Eleanor, it's me. If I was better at my role...”

“Role....?”

Vicky seemed filled with and an enormous amount of guilt as she explained: “I was playing a part...we all were I guess you figured out that I was never Eleanor Shellstrop. I'm just a second-rate wannabe actress playing a part..”

Vicky couldn't tell why Eleanor was smirking at that. “Dude... As one con girl to another... You were absolutely fantastic!”

“Yeah,” Vicky responded with a touch of sarcasm. “Yeah, I nailed the role... Until I... Until I forgot that I was acting...”

The smirk was gone from Eleanor's face. “So, you actually fell in love with Chidi...”

Vicky powder head slightly and played with the buttons on her shirt. “I fell in love with Chidi, I also kinda fell for Tahani, too. I guess you guys kind of wound up being sort of being the Three Musketeers...’

“And...” Eleanor asked nervously, “ _...me? _ ”

The answer came in the for a pair of pink lips crashing into Eleanor’s.

And when Vicky’s tear-stained face separated from Eleanor’s, the blonde’s face was definitely in deer-in-headlights mode.

This was followed by moments of silence, interjected by a few mutual smiles and short replays of Vicky’s bold move. Then Eleanor asked the obvious question to her: ”Who are you...?”

“Well, my real name is Vicky...Victoria Trisha Sengupta....”

“India...?”

“No. Homegrown demon. You see everything about us, our bodies, speech patterns, ethnicities...everything was chosen for us. It gives us a way to figure out how to deal with humans,”

“Like how to torture them.” It wasn't a question from Eleanor. It was a statement of acknowledged fact.

Vicky lowered her head slightly and kept silent for a beat or two. “It started out like that...and it fun at first seeing you go through your paces.” Then Vicky started to chuckle.”That morning after the party was a masterpiece! Eleanor had to to smirk when she recalled that fever dream with giraffes, mega jumbo flying shrimp....all to an Ariana Grande soundtrack. And she had to ask Vicki how did they do that like a fangirl wanting to know how the did all that cool shirt in the Star Wars movies. And Vicky, in turn, was thrilled to tell her. The Cliff’s Notes version was they took down everything Eleanor did at party and visually blew it up. Creating that visual nightmare was a madhouse of activity. Creatures had to be created out of nothing, but demons can do that. They had to get those yellow and black striped jumpsuits on everyone, including the four humans not named Eleanor Shellstrop.

“And Michael ran the whole operation like he was forking Spielberg. You should have been there...you would have been impressed!”

What impressed Eleanor was how this mousey person that pretended to be her had her face light up as she remembered that night. And a lit up Vicky face was also a beautiful one. But the blonde did have one question...

“How did you know about all the things I thinking? Like, some of that shirt I didn’t even think I was thinking...”

By this time, Vicky really didn’t care about keeping the secrets to castle. “Demons, Eleanor...well, we have abilities that other souls don’t have. One of those abilities is to actually go into someone’s thinking...”

“Mind reading...?”

“It’s a bit more involved than that. I’ll show you....”

There was no theatrics, special effects, or ethereal sounds.  Eleanor just felt Vicky’s presence.It was not a rude presence...as a matter of fact it felt very welcoming, enough that Eleanor invited the other woman’s mind in.

It was a guided tour through a woman who had been through a lot. Horrid parents, bad friendships and relationships. There was not a lot of happy in the mind of Eleanor Shellstrop.

Ironically, in fact, the beginning of happy for Eleanor was after she came to the good place. And Vicky looked at a lot of that as she travelled within.

There was Chidi. Vicki’s original soulmate. He’s a nerd alright, but a loveable, sexy one who Eleanor fell for at first sight.  And for all the bullshirt Eleanor put him through, he was and remains by her side...

Tahani. Vain, self-centred, name-dropping. And statuesque, caramel skin, lips like pillows, breasts like islands. And a better friend she could not find.

Jason.  Dumbest. Human. Ever.  But also the most honest human ever.  And there is a certain charm to it that Eleanor is attracted to.

Janet.  No, she’s not human.  But she is beyond whip-smart, maybe even smarter than she realises. She’s not a robot, not human, but unbelievably amazing. She loved Janet as the sister she wished she had.

Speaking of family, Vicky’s mind found how Eleanor felt about both Michael and Mindy St. Cloud. Mindy was Eleanor’s mirror image, except for Mindy’s lust for snortables.  Brutally honest, unashamedly sexual, a master at cutting through anyone’s bullshirt. This is the mom Eleanor needed.

Michael. Yeah, maybe the entire thing was a lie. Vicky knew...she played a part. But then, Mikey’s always been sort of like a dad to everyone at the human division, and Vicky has seen it in how he’s handled these four humans. So Eleanor thinks of Michael as a dad. Vicky understood.

And then Vicky found Eleanor’s feelings about her. All of those feelings.

Vicky’s response was non verbal, but it said volumes. In fact, the kiss Vicky gave Eleanor practically screamed Vicky’s reaction to what she found in Eleanor’s mind. The fact that Eleanor returned that kiss in the intense way she did confirmed what she found.

Then their faces separated and both knew that things had become more complicated.

They had no exactly how complicated...but they were about to find out.

 

**TBA**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My muse ran out, but ideas are percolating. If you have any ideas, let me know...

**Author's Note:**

> Well, how do you like this? Do you have any ideas? Comments? Queries? Posers? Your comments are very welcome, along with your likes and kudos.


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